The new building at Fet-Lor Youth Club in Pilton was officially opened by The Earl of Wessex yesterday.

The centre which was built at a cost of £2.5m has been shortlisted for the Royal Institute of Architecture for Scotland (RIAS) 2017 awards.

HRH met with young people from the community  including groups working towards various Duke of Edinburgh Awards as part of his role as Senior Trustee of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

Fet-Lor is one of the oldest youth support organisations in the city and has more than 300 active members aged between 7 and 17. The club provides a range of educational, social and recreational opportunities for children from deprived areas of Edinburgh.

The Earl of Wessex was shown around the development by Alastair Salvesen CBE, Chair of Fet-Lor Youth Club Endowment Trust and himself a DofE Gold Award Holder.

Alastair Salvesen CBE, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to show His Royal Highness around Fet-Lor and we are very grateful to him for taking so much time and to meet with the staff and young people.”

“Fet-Lor provides fantastic support to local young people, helping them learn new practical as well as social skills. As someone who completed the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Awards many years ago I know the kind of benefits it can bring across a lifetime and am very proud that Fetlor is at the forefront of helping more young people complete this kind of achievement.”

“In our previous facility we were only able to assist about 100 young people but with this new facility this has already increased by another 200 and will grow further if we can find a suitable number of staff and volunteers able to come and work with us.”

The new facility will allow Fet-Lor to provide further support and opportunities to young people in the Pilton area.

Amy Henderson, Youth Manager at Fet-Lor, said: “As someone who grew up in Muirhouse, I know how much young people in this area can achieve if they are provided with the right kind of opportunities which is what we try and do at Fetlor. They can try a range of outdoor activities in a safe environment and the young people really see the benefit of that in their lives.”

“For everyone here to have a chance to explain what we do to the Earl of Wessex has been really special and it has been fantastic both for the staff, volunteers and young people to have that kind of endorsement of what we do here.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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